I love the Surface form factor but am unsure of the future of RT variants of Windows 8. I'm aware the Surface Pro is coming at the end of January but the short battery life predictions are killing it for me.

I personally think MS should release a Surface with the new generation Intel Atom inside - you'd get the full Windows 8 experience (apart from seriously intensive apps) in the same form factor as the Surface RT/Pro.

I do not think we will see an Atom powered Surface but I would love it if they did make one. I think MS will leave the Atom powered tablets to their OEM's. I believe the Surface Pro will continue with high powered Intel chips and the next Surface RT will switch to SnapDragon.

The problem is that atom runs x86 apps and snapdragon runs arm apps. WinRT naturally needs less horsepower/RAM than WinFULL

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Thats not a problem but an advantage. The new Atoms will have better performance with x86 programs and improved gaming, out-of-order execution (huge for performance) and will now support USB 3.0, up to 4GB RAM and still have the battery and weight of a typical ARM tablet. Even with slightly less performance than new ARM chips the better x86 performance will make them a far better choice than an ARM device. I doubt OEM's like Acer will make anything compelling for the new Atoms but a Surface device based on this platform would be great. Thin, light, compatible and capable of running x86 software competently - winning combo.

Another strong endorsement here. I almost purchased the Acer because of this draw, but the Surface design was too compelling.

The OEM-sensitivity/respect/interest is one hindrance or disincentive, but another and perhaps more critical one is the Pro being in the portfolio, because running program packages vs. apps is its primary draw for me.

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no, seeing as the surface RT is the main product that runs windows RT, MS putting out an atom will stop RT in its tracks, so no. I think once a 2nd gen surface comes out, RT will have more apps coupled with a stronger arm processor, and a refined design (not that surface doesn't cause its immaculately well built), it will be much better product and a more compelling reason for RT.

I think the future of Windows RT and Surface RT is going to be in filling the low-end segment with 7-8'ish inch tablets, no desktop and priced at $349.99.

With the next-generation Bay Trail Atom processors Microsoft can put out a strong mid-range Surface starting at $649.99. Basically a good general purpose mobile computing device that people know is a full computer/